British team ready to raise the BAR for America’s Cup

The Sports Desk

Ben Ainslie Racing (BAR) have stepped up their preparation with a training camp.

The team have just returned from Bermuda, where they have been perfecting their playbook for the upcoming World Series races.

BAR was launched in Portsmouth on June 10, 2014, with aim of becoming the first British team in history to win the 152-year-old America’s Cup.

Preparations are now well under way for the eight-event qualifying competition, with the first race scheduled for Cagliari from June 4-7, before the focus turns to Portsmouth as the city hosts the second World Series race between June 23-27.

Other confirmed venues include Gothenburg (August 27-30) and Bermuda (October 16-18), with several more events to be scheduled for 2016.

The overall winner of the World Series will then go on to compete against 2013 winners Team Oracle USA for the 35th America’s Cup in Bermuda in 2017.

BAR sailing manager Jono MacBeth believes the extra time spent training in Bermuda will be of huge benefit when racing commences.

MacBeth said: ‘We turned up in Bermuda with preconceived ideas about how big the race course was going to be, where it was going to be, the wind directions and strengths.

‘It’s not until you’re there on the ground that you really get a good feel for what’s going on.

‘And one thing we learned was that the race course is going to be pretty small, it’s going to be tight, and there’s going to be a lot of manoeuvring.